Star Trek Magazine – July 2019

TheStarTrek:The MotionPicture

WorldPremierewasheldat theMacArthur

Theaterin Washington,DC.The screening

tookplaceonDecember6, 1979,andwas

partof a fundraiserfortheNationalSpace

Club.Jackpot.I hadfallenfacefirstinto

thesugarbowl.

Butwait,there’smore!Seeingthat

weweren’tquitestockeduponcrazyjust

yet,I sleptonthesidewalkat Columbus

Circletosecureticketsforthevery

firstshowinginNYC,whichwasthe

morningaftertheDCpremiere.The

theaterwasat thebaseofthethenGulf

&WesternBuilding,whoat thetime

ownedParamountStudios.Whenthey

discoveredusontheirdoorstep,theysent

downbagels,coffee,T-shirts,posters,

andStarTreksleepingbags.Howabout

that?I proudlybrandishedmyticketsto

theDailyNewsphotogswhoscamperedto

grabshotsofthe“Trekkies.”

(Youknow,backthen,thetermTrekkies

wasderogatory.Fanssincehaveownedthe

nomenclature,butit stillmakesmebristle.)

Picture Perfect?

I was about as excited as anyone could get,

but there was the specter of the movie being

a bomb, which terrifi ed me. Th e fact that it

was premiering on December 7 seemed like

some serious fodder for reviewers who were

straining at the leash to sound clever – and

they would not disappoint.

I’d never been to a Hollywood

premiere in my life, and to be going to

this one: no words. Powerful Klieg lights

split the sky, as the crowd milled in the

gathering dusk of Washington, DC.

Outside of the MacArthur Th eater, a

couple of goofy kids who had no business

being there rubbed elbows with the

stars – and to us, there were no bigger:

Shatner, Nimoy, Roddenberry, Wise... I

mean literally everyone who was anyone,

and those few who – *ahem* – were not

anybody at all. I overheard a voice in

the crowd comment that the print had

been hand-carried by Robert Wise, and

was “still wet.” Now I really was nervous.

Somehow I ended up sitting in front of

Wefanshavealwaysfeltproprietary

oftheshow,butnogenerationhada

betterrighttofeelthatwaythanthealpha

generation.Us.GeneRoddenberryknew

it,andtherewasa familybondbetween

thataudienceandStarTrek, thelikeof

whichwillprobablyneverbeseenagain.

Thuslaysthegroundwork.The idea

thatStarTrekwasbackinproductionwas

mind-bending.DidI justtwiddlemy

thumbswhilewaitingforit topremiere?

Notonyourlife!GeoffMandelandI flew

outtoHollywoodandtalkedourwayon

tothebacklotat Paramount...butthatis

anotherstory,whichI willlookforward

totellingyouat anothertime.

A PremiereIn

It’snowOctober1979,andI’msitting

behindmydrawingboardsketching,when

Donna(mywifeat thetime)looksat me

andsays,“I havea friendwhoworksin

a lawfirmin Washington,DC,whocan

getticketstotheStarTrekpremiere.”I’m

sorry...wouldyoupleaserepeatthat...?

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